Process of decorating a transparent or translucent bottle

ABSTRACT

A method for decorating a glass or plastic transparent or translucent bottle, for the cosmetic field, for containing a cosmetic product such as a perfume, or the like, the decoration of which is carried out inside the bottle, and which consists in making at least one coating onto the inner surface of the bottle, by spraying a liquid mist inside the bottle, characterised in that the liquid is chemically inert with a characteristic close to glass so that the inner coating forms a barrier protecting layer for protecting the cosmetic product from any possible migration detrimental to the fragrance and/or colour as wells as the preservation thereof.

The present invention relates to a method for decorating a transparentor translucent, glass or plastics bottle, for the cosmetic field, bymaking an inner coating in order to make a decoration inside the bottle.Said inner coating is such that the contents of the bottle, that is aperfume, a cream or the like, are protected from any possible migrationdetrimental to the quality thereof, as for example detrimental to thefragrance and/or colour as well as preservation thereof.

Currently, the aesthetics of such products is a crucial factor for thebuyers to make their choice. Moreover, regardless of the field they areworking in, manufacturers seek to give the best possible aesthetics totheir products, so as to cause a purchasing reflex by the consumers.

Fashion, jewellery, cosmetics and perfumery are of course quite affectedby the aesthetics of products, in particular the packaging, and everyonehas been able to note that, in particular the perfumers, seek to appealcustomers with bottles different from those of the competition byproviding their perfume within bottles having increasingly aesthetic andoriginal shapes and decorations.

Methods for decorating a transparent or translucent bottle are alreadyknown, wherein the decoration is made inside the bottle, by using acolour lacquer that is sprayed inside the bottle. This method isdisclosed for example by patent FR2851940. By using this method, it ispossible to make an inner decoration including, for example, a singledecorating coating layer, optionally multiple layers. The lacquers usedare liquid epoxy or polyurethane lacquers, or lacquers made by using asolvent-free powder of the epoxy, polyurethane, polyester, or evenpolyethylene type, and derivatives thereof. However, this decorationtype, even if it enables magnificent decorations to be made, isproblematic in that most perfumes likely to fill thus decorated bottles,may have an incompatibility with the chemical nature of the decoratinglayer(s) that can pollute and degrade these perfumes. A solution to thisproblem is that of depositing, in a final step, a layer capable ofacting as a barrier to the migration of the harmful ingredients from thelacquer layers towards the perfume.

From patent application FR2889485, a method is also known wherein theinner decorating layer(s) is (are) an enamelled layer. However, thedrawback of this kind of method is that a baking is required by heatingat high temperature, for example 800° C., which makes the method costlyand unusable for plastics bottles.

By bottle, it is meant any packaging type for cosmetic products such asperfume, cologne, cream and the like.

The invention provides a novel decorating method enabling a bottle to bedecorated from the inside, which enables a particularly elegantdecoration to be obtained and the cosmetic product therein to beprotected from aggressions thanks to a layer acting as a barrier byisolating said product, said bottle being optionally of glass orplastics.

According to the method of the invention, the decoration is made insidethe bottle, so as to cover the inner surface with a decoration, made ofan inner coating contacting the cosmetic product. According to thedecorating method, at least one decorating layer is made knowing that,as will be seen below, the decoration can be made with several coatinglayers, wherein the layer permanently contacting the perfume is theinert inner layer. The latter has properties close to those of glass.

Thus, the method for decorating a transparent or translucent glass orplastics bottle for the cosmetic field, for containing a liquid such asa perfume, or the like, according to the invention, is characterised inthat the decoration is made inside the bottle, by making at least oneinner decorating layer through spraying. Being chemically inert and withcharacteristic close to glass, this layer enables the perfume to beisolated.

According to the invention, the inert inner layer contacting theperfume, deposited inside, is an inorganic silica- and pigment-basedproduct, and is advantageously an inorganic polymer made by the “SOLGEL”method. The thus deposited layer is an inert polymer withcharacteristics close to glass.

The decorating layer forming the inner coating is made by sprayinginside the bottle a liquid, whether coloured or not, directly onto theglass (or plastics in the case of a plastics bottle), by using a lowpressure air gun having an extension which can be introduced inside thebottle, carrying a spraying nozzle at its end. Upon spraying, the nozzleand the bottle are moved relatively to each another in order to deposita homogeneous layer. Thus, the spraying nozzle can be moved verticallywhile rotating about itself. Nevertheless, the nozzle can also be movedvertically and the bottle can be rotated about the axis formed by thenozzle. However, the bottle could also be moved, by being movedvertically and being rotated with respect to the spraying nozzle.

The inner spraying is made on a hot bottle, accordingly in a steppreceding the spraying step, the bottle is heated. The heating can bemade, for example, through hot air or passing through an oven, so as tobring the bottle to a temperature of about 40 to 50° C.

Note that the spraying made by using the spraying nozzle introduced intothe bottle through the neck thereof, is such that the nozzle provided atthe end of a spraying tube, is advantageously made of a centre pipeincluding a set of radial holes connected to a tank containing theproduct to be sprayed. Of course, the spraying nozzle can have any otherconstruction.

Therefore, the spraying is made with a liquid at room temperature in ahot bottle. In a further step following the spraying step, a drying anda cooling are carried out.

It is understood that the liquid is sprayed in bottle heated prior toits spraying in order to improve the bonding between the decoratinglayer and the inner surface of the bottle.

According to the method of the invention, one or more preliminarydecorating layers can, for example, prior to the layer previouslydefined, be made, this or these layer(s) being then sandwiched inbetween the final decorating layer and the inner wall of the bottle.

Thus, and for example, a liquid or powder of a first colour (C1) can besprayed to form a first colour decorating layer having the first colour(C1). Then, in a intermediate step, the layer can be destroyed indetermined areas through, for example, a laser method. In this operationof destroying the layer, a colourless marking can be made, and then aliquid or a powder of a second colour (C2) is sprayed into the bottle,to make a second decorating layer having the second colour. The secondlayer will only be visible from the outside in areas where the firstlayer of the first colour has been destroyed. Therefore, decorations ofdifferent colours can be made, through the method, or the innerdecorating layer(s) can be destroyed, for example through laser, toleave a decoration-free area, in order to make the level of the bottlecontents visible. Then, the inert final layer is applied, which finallayer is permanently contacting the contents, in order to ensure nomigration will occur over the time of chemicals or colorants containedin the decorating layer and the product contained in the bottle.

Furthermore, the method also enables an inner decoration to be madewith, for example, three layers of different colours, and depending onthese layers, it will be possible to destroy only the first layer forthe second layer to appear in these destroyed areas, whereas the firsttwo layers could be destroyed in other areas, for the third layer toappear, because the laser only destroys the lacquer layers withpigments.

According to another embodiment, an inner decoration is made by morethan two layers of different colours and only the first layer isdestroyed for the second layer to appear in the destroyed areas, whereasthe first two layers are destroyed in other areas for the third layer toappear.

The invention also relates to the bottle decorated according to themethod of the invention, which is characterised in that it includes aninner decoration, whereas it is advantageously of glass, but can be ofplastics such as, for example, thermoplastic polyesters (PET, PET-A,PET-G, . . . ), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polyolefine such aspolyethylene (PE or PE-HD high density polyethylene), or polypropylene(PP), polystyrene (PS) or acrylic or even hybrid material such as, forexample, a material marketed under the trade mark Surlyn® or Abcite®.

The inner coating layer acting as a barrier against the deterioration ofthe bottle content, is inorganic, and as previously seen, isadvantageously obtained and for example by the so-called SOLGEL method,the product includes a silica matrix (from 50 to 95%, preferably 90%)and minerals such as Zircon, Titan, or a mixture thereof. The pigmentsadded to the silica matrix are, for example, colour pigments forcolouring the inner layer. These pigments have, for example, a mixtureof metal oxides such as bismuth oxide, zinc oxide, tin, copper,chromium, sodium oxide, and alumina. The pigments for colouring thelayer are also, and for example, cobalt aluminate, carbon black or evengraphite. The pigments are either inorganic pigments or organic pigmentsthat are trapped into the silica-based matrix of the layer, andtherefore said pigments cannot migrate into the bottle contents.

The liquid sprayed, to make the inner layer contacting the bottlecontents, is an inorganic polymer, which by using the SOLGEL method, isobtained by simple chemical reactions and at a temperature close to roomtemperature (20 to 150° C.). The synthesis is made from alcoholates (aliquid corning from alcohol distillation on aromatic substrates),silicon and an alkyl organic group (hydrocarbons derived molecules(alkanes) having only single covalent bonds). The base reactions arecarried out at about room temperature, therefore it is possible toassociate organic portions with the inorganic portion without the formerto undergo a subsequent thermal degradation. This consists in dissolvingthe organic portion in the synthesis solvent. The inorganic gel is thenformed by taking into account the presence of the invited molecules. Arestriction to this approach is the low proportion of organics insertedinto the inorganic network. The second possibility is that of usingprecursors including both hydrolysable functions that generate thesilicated network and organic functions that remain grafted onto theinorganic backbone. These organic linkages are bonded to the silicon viaa Si—C bond that is hydrolysis-proof. Depending on its nature, theorganic portion can act as a former or a modifier by analogy with glassformers or modifiers made at high temperatures.

Of course, the invention is not restricted to the described embodiments,but it also includes all the technical equivalents as well ascombinations thereof.

1. A bottle, for cosmetic products, decorated from the inside by amethod for decorating a glass or plastic transparent or translucentbottle, for the cosmetic field, for containing a cosmetic product, adecoration of which is made inside the bottle, and which methodcomprises: applying at least one coating on an inner surface of thebottle by spraying a liquid inside the bottle, wherein the sprayedliquid is a silica-based polymer, said liquid being chemically inert sothat the coating forms a barrier layer protecting the cosmetic productfrom any migration detrimental to quality of the fragrance and/or colourthereof as well as preserving the cosmetic product, wherein the bottleis transparent or translucent, of glass or plastics.
 2. The bottleaccording to claim 1, wherein the inner coating contacting the cosmeticproduct is chemically inert with a characteristic close to glass.
 3. Thebottle according to claim 1, wherein the coating is silica based.
 4. Thebottle according to claim 3, wherein the silica-based coating includescolour pigments.
 5. The bottle according to claim 4, wherein thepigments added to the silica matrix are inorganic or organic pigments.6. The bottle according to claim 5, wherein the pigments are metaloxides.
 7. The bottle according to 1, wherein the inner wall of thebottle includes at least a decorating layer beneath the inert layer ofinner coating.
 8. The bottle according to claim 7, wherein thedecorating layer(s) is (are) epoxy lacquer(s).